Now that Pride month is over and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising has come and gone, the marking of this milestone year will now be written into the history books. The most significant—perhaps “remarkable” is the better word—legacy of this year’s celebration is the official apology issued by the NYPD. Commenting on the raid that helped spark the modern … [Read more...] about Police Can Be So Adamant
Arts & Culture
The Historic New Orleans Collection
The Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC) is a museum, research center, and publisher dedicated to preserving the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South. Founded in 1966, THNOC has grown to include 11 historic buildings making up three French Quarter campuses. The Royal Street campus, located at 533 Royal Street, serves as the museum headquarters, housing a … [Read more...] about The Historic New Orleans Collection
Trodding the Boards July 2, 2019
1776 at Playmakers Theater thru July 7 When 1776 opened on Broadway in 1969, it was a turbulent time. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy had been assassinated less than a year earlier. The Vietnam War was raging. Nixon had just been inaugurated that January. A musical dramedy about the signing of the Declaration of Independence did … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards July 2, 2019
Acting Up in New Orleans
As the 50th anniversary of Stonewall approaches, my mind is not so much on the gay liberation movement of the 1970s, but rather on the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. How did the disease affect the movement? How might LGBT+ history have unfolded if there had been no epidemic? And what was happening in New Orleans at the time? In some ways, AIDS had the … [Read more...] about Acting Up in New Orleans
Michael Tonello Is Bringing Home the Birkins and Respoke Espadrilles
Michael Tonello is a former luxury leather liaison and Birkin aficionado. He authored the delightfully wicked and bestselling memoir Bringing Home the Birkin. After years of amassing high end scarves, he now repurposes their silk designs into comfortable footwear through his recently launched brand, Respoke.com, based in Provincetown. Let’s see if his cat approves. Do … [Read more...] about Michael Tonello Is Bringing Home the Birkins and Respoke Espadrilles
Top Five Reasons You Should Join the NOAGE Walking Group
Last September, New Orleans Advocates for GLBT Elders (NOAGE), in collaboration with Stonewall Sports New Orleans,launched a walking group. I’d been running with the Stonewall Prancers group each Monday, but I never could quite keep up with them. I got to thinking that a walking group for people who are new to fitness (or just trying to get back in shape) would be a great new … [Read more...] about Top Five Reasons You Should Join the NOAGE Walking Group
Viewing LGBTQ History Through Stage and Film
Gay Pride is celebrated throughout the world on different weekends during the month of June. World PRIDE, in New York City, will be celebrated June 26-30, and that should be a ball! New Orleans PRIDE, which we celebrated June 7-9, was superb! In our great city, anyone who could view our flag flying and rainbows draped around doorways & windows in the French … [Read more...] about Viewing LGBTQ History Through Stage and Film
Phil Fricano Receives Kevin Donahugh Community Leader Award
Each year since 2011, New Orleans Pride has given out the “Starfish Award” to someone in the community for their leadership and charity work. In 2017, New Orleans Pride’s Co-founder, Kevin Donahugh, passed away. At that time, the Pride Board renamed the award in Kevin’s honor. Anyone who knew Kevin, knows he spent his life helping others and raising funds and awareness for … [Read more...] about Phil Fricano Receives Kevin Donahugh Community Leader Award
Ama-gay-us
I grew up wanting to kill the thing inside me. Through religion, through self-brainwashing, through various substances and sexual encounters with young ladies my age, I devoted the bulk of my youth towards willing an act of self-conversion that would enable me to walk free of my secret burden: the fact that I yearned for and actively masturbated about other dudes. Looking at … [Read more...] about Ama-gay-us
Everybody’s Talking About Bianca
Surreal. That’s how it felt sitting in one of the most historic West End theaters and watching New Orleans’ own Roy Haylock perform in a hit musical. And when he entered in drag and got huge applause from the adoring sold-out house--even more surreal. Anyone who remembers when Bianca Del Rio hosted Drag Bingo at Oz would probably feel the same way. It’s also a word … [Read more...] about Everybody’s Talking About Bianca